Chapter 103: The Leaping Griffin

The old man dressed in a white cloak paused along the well-lit corridor to look out to the window for a moment, leering down at the bustling city of light underneath the ever floating fortress as the dark cloud started to gather above the region. Well within his view was the same old expansive Holy City of Yr, the eternal capital of the Yronas Theocracy that has stood as a beacon of hope for humanity for well over 5000 thousands years. As one of the 6 Cardinals, who spent almost every seconds living on the Wing of Faith, the humongous flying airship that hovered above Yr, Richard, who was in his 70s, has enjoyed this scenery of the city landscape for countless time, yet, somehow, whether it was because of the ominous dark sky or the unnerving feeling he has been experiencing, it seemed to him these peaceful days were coming to a close.

「Richard sama?」The young Oracle guard, who has been following the Cardinal, called out to the old man to remind him.「The rest of the council is waiting for you.」

「I know.」Richard nodded before turning around and walked toward the large golden door across the corridor, which was slowly opened by two Oracle servants.

「Richard, you're late.」One of the Cardinals complained as Richard slowly nodded to greet his colleagues. The Oracle Guard who followed him quickly strode to his assigned position, which was right behind Richard's seat.

「Please excuse me.」Richard acknowledged.「Things are a bit hectic so it was not easy for me to drop everything to attend this meeting. Afterall, the war between us and that cursed Great Demon Lord had just ended… in a stalemate, again.」

「How are those two?」Another Cardinal asked.

「You're asking about the Six? They're fine. They just keep on complaining about our decision to retreat from the battle. The other two who were summoned for this war had already left Yr.」Richard answered.

「Ha, what were they complaining about? It was their fault to begin with. Due to their incompetence, they failed to kill that Overlord despite leading an army of 10k Oracle Elites to a war that we have prepared for well over two years.」An middle aged Cardinal with a bushy gray mustache angrily shouted. His scowling face made it look as if his two thick eyebrows were now fusing into one.

「Maybe we should have allowed them to fight a bit more instead of withdrawing our forces?」A female Cardinal, whose face was filled with wrinkles, voiced her opinions.

「We can't justify that. The casualty of the war was increasing at an alarming rate, especially during the last few days. Those were our elite forces, who we cannot easily replace like foot soldiers. In this war, we lost more than 400 of them. It'd take us years to replace such loss. Granted, the forces of that Overlord were also greatly damaged and had we prolonged the conflict, we may have been able to crush him once and for all… but then, we would be too exhausted to deal with any possible threat from the other 3 Yonkos. It's just not worth it.」

「... Seriously, what's wrong with this generation of Yonko? There were times when our forces could easily crush those who were foolish enough to claim the title of Yonko. But this lot… they're just different.」

Creeekkk… The high door decorated with the symbol of the Oracle that stood opposite to the one Richard walked through slowly opened, causing all 6 of the Cardinals to hastily stand up. Their heads bowed low, awaiting the person who had convened this meeting to make his way toward their table.

「Please relax.」The Divine One, the highest authority within the Oracle and supreme leader of the Yronas Theocracy, slowly made his way into the room. The complete silence atmosphere greatly amplified the echoes of his steps, to which all 6 Cardinals felt as if it rhymed with their trembling heartbeats. The man who ascended to the title of the Divine One five years ago possessed a youthful look that stood in contrast with the aging Cardinals, for he was merely in his thirties. His long silky dark hair was accentuated by the pair of eerie crimson eyes and the Mark of the Oracle engraved on his forehead, which some time would glow in the dark chamber, where the man would stay for most of his day to communicate directly with the Astrals in the Modun Realm.「and especially you, teacher. It's been such a long time since we last converse. How have you been?」

「Your Highness.」Richard's bow deepened.「I've been blessed with perfect health thanks to your and the Astrals' blessing.」

「Ah, that's great to hear.」The Divine One nodded and answered with a smile. Yet, despite his friendly gesture, all 6 Cardinals could perfectly perceive the intimidation aura the man was exuding.「Please sit.」The Divine One commanded with a soft voice and all the Cardinals obliged at once, settling down onto their seat around the giant oval table forged from Adamantite Ore.

「...」

「Your Highness… May we inquire for the reason you have convened this meeting?」One of the Cardinals spoke up after an awkward silence.

「Is it… concerning the withdrawal from the battle against that Yonko?」Another asked with hesitance since he was responsible for the decision.

「Joseph dono… are you worrying that I would reprimand you for that?」The Divine One asked back with unblinking eyes.

「...I take full responsibility for my decision, Your Highness.」The Cardinal finally found his courage after a long pause.「Had we continued our war against the Overlord, all we could achieve in the end is a pyrrhic victory. I deemed that the trade off was not worth it to continue such a campaign. Though, if you were to admonish me for my decision, I will wholeheartedly accept your and the Astrals' punishment.」

「Don't you worry, Joseph dono.」The Divine One smiled.「Both the Enneads and I agreed that the decision you made was a correct one… no matter how regretful it was that we were unable to crush that cursed Yonko. But eventually, we will have another chance to destroy him once and for all… In fact, the Enneads were rather pleased that you have ordered the withdrawal much earlier than they had anticipated.」

「Really?」Joseph was visibly happy that his gods were happy with his work.

「Of course… for you see…」unlike the Cardinal's gleeful expression, the Divine One's was rather grim.「The Astrals had identified a new threat that may threaten the peaceful balance that we have tried to maintain for millenia.」

「What?」All 6 Cardinals shouted out uncharacteristically.

「The threat named Kibadios.」answered the Divine One.

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「Kibadios, these are the ones you told me about?」Kailos asked while looking at his son's harem. He and Ectharen had come out to thoroughly screen the refugees before letting the group into the settlement.

「Yes, father.」Kibadios nodded and introduced everyone to the ogre.「They're all in my group… In fact, Yuusei, Ryan, Rowan, Maia, and Ren here are part of my harem.」

「「「... Master…」 」 」Rowan, Ryan, and Maia called out to Kibadios before glomping on him with tears in their eyes, since never before did they hear Kibadios refer to them as members of his harem… at least not directly in front of them.

「Haaa? What's with you guys?」Kibadios tried to separate from their hugs, mostly because Maia's perky breasts were pressing against his torso, which had made him instantly horny again.

「Father.」Yuusei, who did not care for what Kibadios called him, did not partake in the group glomping. Instead, he turned to Kailos and bowed down to show his respect, a gesture that Kibadios had taught him previously.

「Father?」Ren, the other harem member, raised his eyebrow.

「... Wait a minute…」Rowan suddenly realized.

「... Did Master just say…」Ryan chimed in.

「FATHERRR???」Maia turned to the ogre, who despite looking much taller and more muscular than her own Master, still did look a lot like the hybrid.

「Please to meet you all. I'm Kailos, Kibadios' father.」The ogre introduced himself to the harem with a warm smile.「Instead of standing here, you guys should come into the settlement and take a break. I heard from Kibadios that you have been taking care of the refugee group since yesterday. I will make sure the Leaping Griffin Inn, the best lodging we have here, prepare a welcome feast for you guys.」

「... Father?」Rowan, Maia, and Ryan, who have known Kibadios for the longest, continued to mutter the question as they were led into the city. The other two were not much in shock, since Ryuu just simply accepted whatever Kibadios told him without question while Ren, frankly, did not care that much. Instead of inquiring more about this father figure, Ren was asking Kibadios about his twin's welfare, to which Kibadios informed him that she was just too tired to come out after he fucked her for hours last night.

「Don't worry, I'll let her rest today since you're going to take her place anyways, right?」Kibadios smirked.

「Seriously, where do you find such vigor?」

「... Apparently, I was told I am an half-Incubus Overlord.」Kibadios answered.「I didn't even know such sub-species would exist.」

「You're a fabled Incubus Overlord?」Ren tilted his head.「... why am I not surprised…」The former elven prince sighed in defeat.

「Hey Kailos, you know where's Ectharen?」Teran suddenly jumped down from roofs of the houses, crash landing in front of the ogre.

「He should be right outside the destroyed Western Gate, taking care of the refugees.」Answered Kailos.

「Got it!」Teran acknowledged before leaping toward where the lion beastman was.

「He was scouting the Yinese army, wasn't he?」Kibadios asked the ogre..

「Yeah… I wonder if Hou Yi has made any other move.」

「...」Yuusei simply looked after the mutant ogre that he had just met.

「... That mutant…」Teran, in turn, turned around to take another look at Yuusei in his adult form, since he could feel a strange connection with him.

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「Huh? I thought the city is under siege?」a petite leopard beastman girl asked as her group slowly made their way to the crowded gathering in front of the rubbles that used to be the city gate, where all of the refugees were being screened.

「Judging from the damages, I'd say Alsen won the battle and forced the Yinese Army to lift the siege.」The Yves guessed.

「If that's the case, then it must have been the same army that camped 30 miles away from here, which we had to carefully sneak around last night.」The giant mercenary concluded.

「Most likely.」The Yves nodded.「Now, where's Teran? Let's hope he did not die yet.」

「Haa, as if!」The giant laughed.「and it sounds like you're still mad at him?」

「Of course!」The Yves scowled.「He took all of the 13th division members with him and almost got our division disbanded.」

「Let the bygone be bygones. We're having a new captain now, who's become our Boss' blood brother, no less, so I'm sure our division will grow again.」The giant patted the Yves.

「I really don't know why the Boss is thinking. He just took in that suspicious hybrid and made him his blood brother.」The leopard beastman girl complained.「I don't know about you two, but you will not find me obeying the hybrid's command.」

「I can see why the Boss is interested in him.」The Yves paused.「Though I agree, he won't have my complete allegiance. That being said, I will give him chance to earn it.」

「Suspicious huh? Let's be honest here, everyone in the Hyakki Yagyo are all "suspicious" people with murky pasts, yet the Boss took all of us in like a family.」The giant reminded the girl.「I'll trust the Boss' intuition.」

「Tssss」The girl pouted, though she knew she couldn't refute the giant's point.

「Let's pick up our pace.」suggested the Yves.「The sooner we give them the bad news about their "twin city" in the east, the better」

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「We're sorry for our improper manner earlier, Kailos sama!!」All three humans in Kibadios' harem now bowed low, touching the table they were sitting around.

「Since Kibadios sama told us what happened back at his village」Ryan turned to his Master. 「 We… just never imagine that you're still… you know… alive.」

「That night I was separated from Kibadios and Isis, but still, against all of the odds, the men in the village and I fought on until dawn came. One by one, we were cut down and our numbers dwindled as we found ourselves outnumbered by more than 50 to 1. I didn't remember when Hou Yi finally called off the attack and withdrew his troops but once my senses came back, I found myself standing on top of the lifeless corpses of friends and foes alike, all littered around the village.」Kailos explained, before turning to Kibadios with a regretful look.「I rushed to look for Kibadios and Isis, but all I could find was her splattered blood by the river bank… If only I continued to search for her!!!」Kailos' eyes were burning up.

「Father, we will find her and bring her back.」Kibadios declared.

「Wait, Master's mother is also alive?」asked Maia.

「If what that Chimera named Mu said is to be believed.」Kibadios explained.「Then she's still alive out there. Before he left, he told me we shared the same mother.」

「How can that be?」

… If Kibadios sama's mother really gave birth to that Chimera, does it mean… Rowan thought to himself as he quickly realized the possibility of the unspeakable things that the mother of his master must have endured and why Kailos was filled with rage right now.

「Do we have any idea where she is?」Ryuu asked.「If we do, then I can personally crash the place and bring the Lady back!」

「... If… if she really is the mother of those Chimera, then she must be in Wei Shimin's secret laboratory.」Kailos guessed.「The problem is that we don't know where it locates.」

「That laboratory…」Kibadios muttered while shivering, for the hellish nightmare he experienced during his last life flashed back in his head.

「If there exists a laboratory where captured demihumans are regularly sent there for experiment, it's more likely it is located somewhere in Monas Kye or at the border of Monas Kye and the Yin Empire, since it bet it'd be much more difficult to transport so many captives to a faraway place like the inner territory of the Yin Empire.」Rowan deduced.

「Rowan's right.」Ren agreed. 「Besides, there's another reason why such a laboratory controlled by Wei Shimin would locate in either the Southern Provinces of the Yin Empire or Monas Kye.」

「What is it?」Kibadios asked.

「It's because the Southern Provinces are the domain of Wei Shimin.」Ren explained.「You see, the relationship between Wei Shimin and his half brother, the current emperor of the Yin Empire, has never been amicable. There are rumors that sooner or later, Wei Shimin would rebel to take the throne. Now, those Chimera, produced from the laboratory, is clearly Wei Shimin's "slaves", if what you have overheard them referring to themselves is true, Kailos dono.」Ren turned to Kailos.

「Yeah, they thought of themselves as "Hou Yi's slaves".」Kailos confirmed what he had heard them saying before charging at them during the battle just yesterday.

「Then that most likely means they're exclusively Wei Shimin's fighting force… and if my guess is correct, it's a force that Wei Shimin is building up to be able to one day challenge his brother.」Ren continued.「If that's the case, it's only natural that he build such a laboratory within either his domain… or most likely, somewhere in the vastness of Monas Kye.」

「Why most likely Monas Kye?」Ryuu cocked his head.

「Because despite it's his domain, his land is still ultimately Yin Empire's land and however small of the chance it is, there's still a distinct possibility that his brother, the emperor, would send the imperial forces to take over the laboratory and all its research to use it against him.」Ren answered.「and since Monas Kye is a vast empty grassland, it's easier to build a secret laboratory here, outside of his brother's reach.」

「But if it's really here, then it must have been built underground since no one in Monas Kye has ever discovered it.」suggested Rowan.

「or it's being protected by concealing Runecraft or magic.」Ren added.「In short, it won't be easy to find such a place.」

「... You have some really good people in their harem, Kibadios.」Kailos smiled, with a hint of pride in his son. 「They're not only handsome and beautiful, but also strong and smart. I hope you're treating them well.」

「I…」Kibadios was going to say something before being disrupted.

「You're right! Those three are really human.」A lizardman confirmed after walking closer to Kibadios' table.

「What the hell are human doing here?」His companion angrily asked.「They should be evicted from this town!」

「They're with my son's.」Kailos spoke up, glaring at the Lizardman.「Please mind your word.」

「Huh? Kailos dono?」The Lizardman finally noticed the ogre sitting in the corner.「I… I didn't know they're your… guests. But … why human?」

「You Lizardman!」Kibadios annoyingly called out the man, for he seemed to experience a de javu. Back in Lorian, they were also getting into an argument because the worthless adventurer was discriminating against him, now, it's his harem members that were discriminated against. 「If you have any problem with those who belong to me, then you better confront me directly.」

「... Master…」All the three humans were moved by their master's gesture.

「Please calm down, Master…」Ryan tried to sooth the hybrid.「Given how much pain Yin Empire, a human nation, is inflicting upon them, you can't blame them for feeling irritated.」

「You're the rumored Young Lord?」The Lizardman seemed to quickly back down after learning they were with Kailos.「...You're the son of the House of the Horn's Chief… and a savior of Alsen, please rethink your association with humans… they're nothing but harbinger of destruction and suffering.」

「Thanks for your advice, but who I chose to keep me company is none of your concern.」Kibadios retorted, to which the Lizardman simply relented, nodded to acknowledge his respect to Kailos before leaving.

「Ha. I guess I was worried for no reason.」Kailos laughed.

「Worried? About what?」asked Kibadios.

「About whether you're treating your harem member well or not.」Kailos answered.

「Of course Master took great care of us, Kailos sama!」Maia defended her Master.

「That's good to know. You see, many in the incubus and succubus race do not care about who they're with, since they mostly care about their own self interest and pleasure.」Kailos started to explain.「That's why I was wondering if Kibadios has shown enough appreciation to you guys, his own harem. But, of course, there are the norms and there are the exceptions. In some cases, once an incubus or succubus truly falls in love with someone, they will devote their all to take care and protect them.」Kailos looked at Kibadios.「And seeing how Kibadios reacts when someone is bad mouthing you, I bet he falls to the latter category of incubus.」

「「「"Love"」」」The group was all blushing.

「...It's only natural for me to defend what's mine.」Kibadios "tsunderely" denied.

「Ah, right.」Rowan turned to the hybrid.「Why did he call you Young Lord? And what's the House of the Horn?」

「Ah」Kibadios looked at his father for a brief moment before turning back to the healer.「You see, turn out, my father is not only the Chief of our village, but he's now also the Chief of the House of Horn, one of the great three Houses of the grassland that helped founded Alsen thousand years ago.」

「「「Wow…」」」The information surprised all of Kibadios's harem members who had just arrived earlier, though as usual, such revelation meant nothing to Yuusei, who simply munched on the chicken wing. The group continued their conversations for a while, learning more about the city, Kailos, and their situation with the Yin Empire. Before long, a bird suddenly flew down onto Kailos spot from outside the window. The ogre, unfazed by the feathery intrusive guest, raised his hand up, allowing the bird, which looked much like an eagle but with a long, silky tail like that of a peacock, to grab its claws onto his clothed arm. Kailos took out the small paper missive attached to its feet and read it.

「An urgent meeting was convened.」Kailos informed the group.「Kibadios, do you want to join in? As my son and one who helped lifting the seige, you're of course invited.」

「I…」Kibadios was going to agree, before remembering something after looking at Yuusei.「Actually, I'll stay here. You can fill me in the details later.」

「Of course.」Kailos nodded, then stood up.「Sorry, I guess those you longed for since yesterday had just arrived, I should leave you some time with them instead of stealing you away from them again.」The ogre teased.「Enjoy your stay here, everyone. Kibadios should be able to show you to your room. I hope you can have some rest to stay refresh.」

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「Why don't you go with Kailos sama, Master?」Ryan asked.

「Well, cuz, we need to have a little chat, right, my Yuusei?」Kibadios patted the mutant hybrid's head.「So, what happened that made you look so down?」

City of Yr, Capital of Yronas + The flying fortress, where the meeting of the Cardinals and Divine One took place (NovelAI):

https://imgur.com/QB8SNTB